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Technology Strategy and Competitive Performance in Bridge Construction
Abstract
Pragmatic construction professionals, accustomed to intense price competition and focused on the bottom line, have difficulty justifying investments in advanced technology. Researchers and industry professionals need improved tools to analyze how technology affects the performance of the firm. This paper reports the results of research to begin answering the question, “does technology matter?” The researchers developed a set of five dimensions for technology strategy, collected information regarding these dimensions along with four measures of competitive performance in five bridge construction firms, and analyzed the information to identify relationships between technology strategy and competitive performance. Three technology strategy dimensions—competitive positioning, depth of technology strategy, and organizational fit—showed particularly strong correlations with the competitive performance indicators of absolute growth in contract awards and contract award value per technical employee. These findings indicate that technology does matter. The research also provides ways to analyze options for approaching technology and ways to relate technology to competitive performance for use by managers. It also provides a valuable set of research measures for technology strategy.
... The importance of technology and contractors' competitive performance has been highlighted by a number of studies. Hampson and Tatum (1997) found that there was a positive relationship between technology strategy and contractors' competitive performance. Strassmann and Wells (1988) attributed the declining share of the Korean contractors in the overseas market to their less sophisticated technology and lack of experience in certain specialized areas when compared with their competitors in highly industralized countries such as Japan and US. ...
... Empirical studies that examine the link between factors of performance and contractor's performance have also been conducted. Hampson and Tatum (1997) examined the competitive performance of bridge construction companies in California. ...
... When financial data was not available, proxies of financial measures were used. Hampson and Tatum (1997) measured the competitive performance in terms of the trends in value of contracts award, trends in market share over the past 10 years, value of contract awards per technical management employee and weighted average performance index. ...
... Mitropoulos and Tatum (2000) regard advances in technology as major sources of improvement for firms and industries. Hampson and Tatum (1997) argue that intense competitive pressures in construction require new ways to improve performance. According to these authors, advanced technology offers one possible way to differentiate a firm from its competitors. ...
... Correspondingly, construction researchers have declined a need for improved tools to analyze how technology affects the performance of the firm. Hampson and Tatum (1997) argue that before managers can invest in IT, they need a way to measure its benefits. O' Connor and Yang (2003) call for quantitative analysis to guide IT implementations, arguing that firms would be better able to make technology decisions with the aid of such metrics. ...
... Special purpose simulation (SPS) is based on creation of a platform or a template for a specific domain of application [1,7]. A lot of efforts have been made in the field of bridge construction management [2,4,5,[9][10][11]. The research carried out by [11] aimed at the measurement of bridges' construction productivity. ...
... The research carried out by [11] aimed at the measurement of bridges' construction productivity. Whereas, [4] studied the impact of using new construction technologies on the construction of bridges. Computer simulation has been used by [2] to estimate the productivity rates of different combinations of crews for the construction of cable stayed bridges. ...
Bridge deck construction is performed in a cyclic manner and it involves different types of interacted resources. This paper presents a case study that discusses how computer simulation is used to aid bridges' contractors in planning of bridges' decks, taking into consideration the interaction amongst involved resources. As such, total duration of deck execution and the associated total costs, including direct and indirect costs, can be estimated. El-Warrak Bridge, which is a part of the Ring Road of Cairo, Egypt, is analyzed in a step-by-step procedure to demonstrate the capability of computer simulation in modeling construction of bridges' decks using cast-in-place on falsework and cantilever carriage construction methods. The presented methodology proves its practicality to contractors in estimating the time and costs of the repetitive process of bridge deck construction, considering complex interdependencies between construction resources and the uncertainties associated with construction activities.
... For research efforts that aim mainly at deepening the understanding of current practice, in-depth case studies [83] are usually more appropriate than the presented method; see [84] for an example of the application of this type of research method. ...
Among several others, the on-site inspection process is mainly concerned with finding the right design and specifications information needed to inspect each newly constructed segment or element. While inspecting steel erection, for example, inspectors need to locate the right drawings for each member and the corresponding specifications sections that describe the allowable deviations in placement among others. These information seeking tasks are highly monotonous, time consuming and often erroneous, due to the high similarity of drawings and constructed elements and the abundance of information involved which can confuse the inspector. To address this problem, this paper presents the first steps of research that is investigating the requirements of an automated computer vision-based approach to automatically identify “as-built” information and use it to retrieve “as-designed” project information for field construction, inspection, and maintenance tasks. Under this approach, a visual pattern recognition model was developed that aims to allow automatic identification of construction entities and materials visible in the camera’s field of view at a given time and location, and automatic retrieval of relevant design and specifications information.
... There are two major reasons for reluctance to incorporate technology: Uncertain competitive advantage from using new technologies and lack of information regarding technologies and benefits (Mitropoulos and Tatum 2000) [5]. Correspondingly, construction researchers have called for enhanced tools to investigate how technology affects the performance of the firm (Hampson and Tatum 1997). Kumashiro (1999) calls for quantitative analysis to guide ICT implementations, disagreeing that firms would be better able to make technology decisions in the presence of such quantitative analysis. ...
Projects in the construction industry are more challenging in comparison to other industries. Every project is different in nature and generates unique information. Information handling is key to manage challenges. Information and communication technology (ICT) can be used to empower construction organizations to make quick decisions based on accurate information. Information can be visualized, studied, optimized, and quantified with greater accuracy. However, the construction industry in Pakistan has been relatively slow to adapt ICT. Design and construction organizations can achieve integration of various construction activities by redesigning organizational functions and processes using ICT. Before that an assessment of ICT use and its effectiveness is required. This paper will provide an assessment of the effects of the use of Information and Communication Technology systems in the Construction Industry of Pakistan. A survey of different construction organizations has been conducted. The results of the study provide an insight into awareness of ICT benefits in the construction organizations of Pakistan furthermore; bottlenecks in its Adoption are explored.
... Tulisan ini tidak diarahkan pada pembahasan secara teknis mengenai jenis teknologi informasi dan komunikasi yang perlu diimplementasikan pada badan layanan umum. Rosenbloom, 1989;Hampson, 1993). ...
The research paper discusses about the relationship between technology utilization and organization design with good governance in public service agency (badan layanan umum/BLU). Public services institutions have been frequently impaired by corruption. Transforming the good governance principles in organization becomes a critical agenda to decrease the impact of such corruptive actions.Technology and organization design theoritically proposed as two of antecedent variables encouraging the acceleration of such transformation. The research paper is propositional paper. Keywords: good governance, information and communication technology, organization design, public service agency (badan layanan umum/BLU)
... In this process, called adaptation, the technology transfer project is managed. The process of adaptation is a process after acquiring, but at the same time, it is the outcome of the technology transfer output to adapt to the conditions (Hampson, 1993). Adaptation period includes processes like the commencement of the operation of the transferred technological system, capacity development, risk assessment, system regulation, implementation, inspection, and final evaluation. ...
Technology transfer is an important way for enterprises to gain competitive advantage. For the customer satisfaction and profitability, the process after the decision is as important as the transfer itself. In technology transfer, which brings significant costs and risks for enterprises, these processes must be carried out in an adaptive manner and an appropriate strategy should be developed. Sustainable company strategies should be determined in terms of sustainability, profitability, adaptation to developing technology, and technology to be transferred to maintain competitiveness with regards to strategic management. Developed strategies to be open to change and improvement and assigning them to the enterprise and its environment are important for sustainability. In this study, the approach of adaptation to technology transfer strategy is discussed with the content analysis method and the 136 theoretical and strategic approaches related to the research subject are examined. The basic information and suggestions for developing adaptive strategies on the basis of production strategies in technology transfer have been introduced. With this study, it is aimed to contribute to the literature about the importance of adaptation in the transfer process, strategy formation, and in-house information flow in technology transfer. The fact that the adaptation issue is not included in the technology transfer strategy literature reveals the importance of the study.
... Many studies have addressed the importance of technologies as organisational competitive resources, e.g. Hampson and Tatum (1997). However, the more that advanced technologies are purchased or imported in the Chinese construction industry, the less they are utilised and operated fully and capably (Li et al., 2013). ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to develop a simultaneous measurement of overall performance and its two dimensions of efficiency and effectiveness in the case of Chinese construction industry.
Design/methodology/approach
A relational two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) method, which builds a relationship between component stages and can effectively identify inefficient stages, is developed and applied in order to measure overall performance, efficiency and effectiveness.
Findings
The construction industry of the Eastern region in China demonstrated the best results for overall performance, efficiency and effectiveness. The gaps between regions were primarily reflected in differences of pure technical efficiency. Performance indicators in the whole construction industry improved steadily and but could be improved more effectively. The coefficients of variation became smaller and more well-balanced across the whole industry.
Practical implications
Improving overall performance should focus on promoting construction efficiency at the project level and increasing management effectiveness at the company level. Sustainable development policies, which may include large investment and preferential policies, can narrow performance differences among the regions’ construction industries, and ultimately promote overall performance for the whole industry.
Originality/value
The relational two-stage DEA model is further developed in a variable returns-to-scale condition. The developed approach is generic and can provide a pathway for simultaneously measuring performance, efficiency and effectiveness and to recognise competitive advantages for promoting sustainable development.
... First, more empirical analysis is needed because the bulk of existing literature then, and now, is conceptual (Adler, 1989;Burgelman andRosenbloom, 1989, Maidique andPatch, 1988;Morone, 1993;Porter, 1985, Teece, 1986. Several studies emerged over the years to validate the many technology strategy concepts and address the empirical deficiency (Hampson, 1994;McCann, 1991;Zahra and Covin, 1994;Zahra, 1996a, 1996b, Wilbon, 1999Zahra and Bogner, 2000). Nevertheless, further empirical examination is still needed as the knowledge in the field matures based on the emerging strategies firms created to handle rapid technological evolution. ...
A comprehensive technology strategy is recognized as an important tool for managing a competitive organization. In today's fast evolving, and often volatile, business environments learning organizations must develop strategies to effectively manage their technology resources through a continual evaluation of their processes. Drawing from the technology strategy, organizational learning, and population ecology theory, this paper synthesizes the micro and macro dimensions and proposes that implementation of a multidimentional technology strategy has a direct impact on firm survival. Implications as it relates to for future longitudinal research and management practices are also explored.
... Various sources, for example, Love (2008), Hampson and Tatum (1997) insinuated the way that construction industries, while subject to complex communication between vast number of people and associating capacities is encumbered with issues relating to variation, non-value adding activities, and waste; the last of which is thought to be the real wellspring of budgetary misfortune inside of the industry (Taner, 2013). This discrepancy could be attributed to the factors that construction industries has to established system of communication that ensures effective and efficient exchange of information in managing the successful and complex communication between vast number of project stakeholders and at the same time will eliminate waste and no-value adding activities. ...
Indisputable and has been proven in numerous academic studies before that that the construction industry
plays a major role along with the other sectors in the sustainable development of a country. The role of a
construction company which is governed by both the prudent management and the success of a construction
project in a country are very important. This can be viewed and examined in depth about the effectiveness in the
success criteria of a project managed by the continuity of a construction company. Ensuring the existence of an
organization in an industry is an important factor in this challenging market. This is no exception in the
construction sector where competition is a fundamental issue to every construction companies. Making progress
is basically, a vigorous question for the construction companies‟ top management to ask to themselve regularly.
From time to time, industry players are facing stiff and tough competition due to large number of players,
whether existing or new players involved from various background and track record. Furthermore, the large
numbers of component deciding the competitiveness of contractors, whose organization structures and
governance have turned out to be more muddled. Different construction companies have their own unique
criteria which may differ from one to another. The enormous amount of issues needs to bring down to
manageable numbers so that measures can be identified and scrutinized to enhance competitiveness. This paper
discusses the result from the critical investigation of secondary data from past studies in the Asian countries,
namely China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. Several fundamental factors have
been identified as CSFs in construction companies in respective country.
Also highlighted a critical survey based upon various literatures written on this subject where critical
success factors (CSFs) as yardsticks to gauge the factors influencing the construction company survive in the
industry for a number period of time as well as the relationship among CSFs in various construction companies
in different country in the Asian region. Far reaching estimation of an organization's performance and resulting
input to its supervision is crucial for business change. Estimation additionally empowers organizations to be
contrasted from one another on the premise of institutionalized data, permitting best practices to be
distinguished and connected more widely. Different countries have their own set of critical success factors
(CSFs) which may differ in term of priority and at the same time share common elements of success factor in
accomplishment as a construction companies. The study, which is exploratory in nature, embraced the content
and literature investigation and inductive technique to accomplish its objectives.
... Various sources, for example, [11] and [12] insinuated the way that construction industries, while subject to complex communication between vast number of people and associating capacities is encumbered with issues relating to variation, non-value adding activities and waste; the last of which is thought to be the real wellspring of budgetary misfortune inside of the industry [10]. In construction industries, it is tougher to accomplish or keep up a strategic management to quantify their present accomplishment because of the differing qualities and intricacy of construction organizations [5]. ...
Making progress basically, a fundamental issue for the construction companies to get by in a highly competitive industry. From time to time, industry players are facing stiff and tough competition due to large number of players, whether existing or new players involved from various background and track record. Furthermore, the large numbers of component deciding the competitiveness of contractors, whose organization structures and governance have turned out to be more muddled. Different construction companies have their own unique criteria which may differ from one to another. The enormous amount of issues needs to bring down to manageable numbers so that measures can be identified and scrutinized to enhance competitiveness. This paper discusses the result from the critical investigation from past studies in the Asian countries, namely China, India, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia. Several fundamental factors have been identified as CSFs in construction companies in respective country. Also highlighted a critical survey based upon various literatures written on this subject where critical success factors (CSFs) as a yardstick to gauge the relationship among CSFs in various construction companies in the Asian region. Far reaching estimation of an organization’s performance and resulting input to its supervision is crucial for business change. Estimation additionally empowers organizations to be contrasted from one another on the premise of institutionalized data, permitting best practices to be distinguished and connected more widely. Different countries have their own set of critical success factors (CSFs) which may differ in term of priority and at the same time share common elements of success factor in accomplishment as a construction companies. The study, which is exploratory in nature, embraced the content investigation and inductive technique to accomplish its objectives.
... But the diligent application and implementation of the technology strategy concept can provide the foundation for the creation of substantial competitive advantage. Model for integrating technology strategy into a large firm (Adapted from Glueck[2] and Hampson[27]) Model for integrating technology strategy into a small to medium firm ...
... The lowest weight (0.091) is represented by S3 designa beam-slab system with continuous spans of varied length. Taking into consideration the dominant trends of bridge structure for obstacles in size at issue, the analysis output figures seem to be very similar to the real-time conditions (Hampson and Tatum, 1997;Karlowski and Paslawski, 2008;Zobel et al., 2007). It has been found simultaneously that in case of broadening of the proposed criteria set (taking into account e.g. the existing communication network or the site topography) the result can also have the form of location recommendation. ...
Realisation of design issues concerning bridges requires addressing numerous complex structural, technological and architectural problems that need to be handled by a designer with extensive experience and intuition. This is a multi-criteria process, often hard to be clearly defined. It can be proven by a small number of scientific works devoted to the subject. Thus this article presents a new approach to selecting a structural-and-technological version for a highway RC bridge. The FAHP (Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process) multi-criteria comparative analysis method has been applied for these purposes. The assumed domestically predominant highway RC bridge structural-and-technological options have been analysed and optimised. For the evaluation purposes a group of criteria have been assumed, from a primary criteria set, by a superiority matrix, simultaneously taking into account the criteria hierarchy. From amongst numerous structural types, the most common ones have been recommended, i.e. slab girder bridge, slab-and-beam bridge, box girder bridge and arch one designs. The conclusions considering i.e. the possibility of application of the method by presentation of its advantages and possible limitations have been drawn on the basis of the obtained results analysis.
... Technological competitive positioning puts firms into an industrial context that provides a broad direction in the long term. It is the company's relative standing in an industry that can be assessed by using the following measures (Hampson and Tatum, 1997): (a) emphasis of technology in overall business strategy, (b) command of key technologies in industry (c) command of unique technological position, (d) ability to be key technology leader, and (5) monitoring of competitor technologies. An assessment of the competitive positioning provides threefold benefits. ...
In today's business scenario, strategic decisions rely to a very large extent upon critical and precise information needs. However, this information itself is plagued in its divergence and often overlapping. As such, this study attempts to sort out relevant information in formulating technology strategy from a system point of view. It seeks to explain present information systems in business organizations and identifies information needs in different decision areas in technology strategy formulation. Furthermore, it looks into technology strategy dimensions and their interdependence that provide a premise for modeling information systems of an enterprise. A context diagram has been developed based on dimensions of technology strategy formulation for better discernment of information. Finally, the study suggests a comprehensive model of information systems for technology strategy formulation consisting of info-input, info-process, and info-output.
... Correspondingly, construction researchers have called for improved tools to analyze how technology affects the performance of the firm. Hampson and Tatum (1997) argue that managers need a way to measure the expected benefits of IT to invest in technology. O'Connor and Yang (2003) call for quantitative analysis to guide IT implementations, arguing that firms would be better able to make technology decisions in the existence of such quantitative analysis. ...
Summary This paper examines the impact of information technology (IT) utilization on construction firm performance. Based on empirical data collected from 74 US construction firms, the analyses provide evidence that IT has a positive impact on overall firm performance, schedule performance, and cost performance. Firm performance is a composite score of several metrics of performance: schedule performance, cost performance, customer satisfaction, safety performance, and profit. No relationship is found between IT utilization and customer satisfaction, safety, or profit, although this may be due to limitations of the study given strong correlations between IT utilization and cost and schedule performnance. The empirical evidence of positive association between performance and IT use provided by this research is significant to both construction practice and research literature. This evidence should encourage firms to adopt and invest in IT tools.
... Second, the goals and performance criteria adopted by companies differ from one company to another. These difficulties have been pointed out in the construction management literature , and subjective measurement approaches have been commonly used for exploring the influence of some organizational factors on construction companies' performance e.g., Kabasakal et al. 1989; Hampson and Tatum 1997. The use of the subjective method is widespread in the management literature too, and its validity has been justified by numerous research studies e.g., Dess and Robinson 1984; Covin 1991. ...
Competitive strategy and neo-institutional scholars offer different views for studying a firm's relationship with its environment. Competitive strategy scholars propose that a firm's environment hosts competitive forces and that a firm's performance is closely related with its ability to differentiate itself from its rivals. Neo-institutional scholars, on the other hand, propose that a firm's environment hosts institutional forces and that a firm's performance is closely related with its ability to conform to institutional norms. The research presented here builds on the premise that the propositions set forth by competitive strategy and neo-institutional scholars are complementary rather than contradictory. It empirically explores these propositions in the context of the U.S. construction industry. Research findings provide considerable empirical support for the competitive strategy scholars' proposition that differentiation vis-a-vis rivals is positively related with a firm's performance. On the other hand, research findings do not provide any empirical support to the neo-institutional scholars' proposition that conformity to regulatory and societal expectations is positively related to a firm's performance.
... Second, goals and performance criteria of companies differ from one company to another. These difficulties have been pointed out in the construction management literature, and subjective measurement approaches have been commonly used for exploring the influence of some organizational factors on construction companies' performance Kabasakal et al. 1989;Hampson and Tatum 1997. The use of the subjective method is widespread in the literature, and its validity has been justified by numerous research studies Dess and Robinson 1984;Covin and Slevin 1988. ...
The concept of competitive positioning is explored in the context of the United States construction industry along two dimensions-scope and mode of competition. The effects of competitive positioning on construction company performance are also explored while controlling the size of construction companies. Construction firms' choices regarding scope and mode of competition and their economic performance are self-reported. The statistical analyses used in this research include cluster analysis, Duncan multiple range tests, one-way analysis of variance, and one-way analysis of covariance. Research findings point out that construction companies address the challenges of the industry by adopting a number of competitive positioning alternatives. Research findings also reveal that construction companies' choices regarding scope and mode of competition are significantly related to company performance, measured by means of three criteria-profitability, growth in contract awards, and overall performance. Construction firms that place a strong emphasis on all modes of competition and adopt a neutral approach to scope of competition outperform their rivals.
... Kale and Arditi 2002 argue that research on competitive positioning in the construction industry appears to be unbalanced in favor of anecdotal or descriptive approaches. Only a few construction management researchers such as Jennings and Betts 1996 have conducted empirical research studies in this area and explored performance implications Akintoye and Skitmore 1991; El-Mashaleh et al. 2006; Hampson and Tatum 1997. In their study, Kale and Arditi 2002 used one of the most influential generic typologies, Porter's 1980 generic competitive positioning typology, to classify United States construction firms. ...
Frequent change and unfamiliar conditions in design and construction markets now force greater attention to business planning. Business strategies generally include: overall purpose and mission; objectives for operations; choices of products and markets; distinctive competencies or capabilities of the firm; critical resources to support these competencies; and competitive advantages. The application of these components of business planning to design and construction markets and firms is presented. Based on these components, business and project planning practices and possible additional relationships between these two activities are presented.
... Performance is further constrained by 'a focus on short-term business cycles and a project-toproject culture' (Newton et al. 2009). This project culture is also exacerbated by construction industry characteristics quite different to industrial manufacturing (Hampson 1993) such as location-dispersed sites, project cost, complexity, high risk of failure, limited repetitions in documentation and immobility of the final product, which make the construction industry unique (Nam 1990). Construction contracting in Australia is also regarded as a competitive and high-risk business (Uher 1994). ...
This paper discusses a current research project building new understandings and knowledge relevant to R&D funding strategies in Australia. Building on a retrospective analysis of R&D trends and industry outcomes, an industry roadmap will be developed to inform R&D policies more attuned to future industry needs to improve research investment effectiveness. The project will also include analysis of research team formation and management (involving end users from public and private sectors together with research and knowledge institutions), and dissemination of outcomes and uptake in the Australian building and construction industry. The project will build on previous research extending open innovation system theory and network analysis and procurement, focused on R&D. Through the application of dynamic capabilities and strategic foresighting theory, an industry roadmap for future research investment will be developed, providing a stronger foundation for more targeted policy recommendations. This research will contribute to more effective construction processes in the future through more targeted research funding and more effective research partnerships between industry and researchers.
... Several empirical studies have emerged in recent years to validate the many concepts on competitive posture in technology intensive industries (Hampson, 1994;Zahra and Covin, 1994;Wilbon, 1999a). However, the performance implications of competitive posture in small to medium sized high tech firms are not well documented. ...
Small to medium sized technology firms significantly impact the national and world economy and it is paramount that the best-managed firms have long term success. Empirical analysis must determine the competitive posture that will enhance performance and increase success rates for this population. This research examines the competitive posture of 168 high technology initial public offering (IPO) firms from 1992 and their short term and long term performance. Content analysis of the IPO prospectus provides the source of data for the variables. The research supports the hypotheses that pioneering competitive posture outperform others in the population.
... Second, goals and performance criteria of companies differ from one company to another. These dif culties have been pointed out in the construction management literature, and commonly subjective measurement approaches have been used for exploring the in uence of some organizational factors on construction companies' performance (Kabasakal et al., 1989;Hampson and Tatum, 1997). The use of the subjective method is widespread in the literature and its validity has been justi ed by numerous research studies (Dess and Robinson, 1984;Covin and Slevin, 1988). ...
The general contractor-subcontractor relationship has been a focus of interest in the literature and yet its impact on a general contractor's economic performance remains a virtually unexplored area in the construction management literature. This research presents the findings of a questionnaire survey administered to 500 large US general contractors to explore this issue. The findings reveal that maintaining a relationship of high quality with subcontractors is positively and strongly associated with the perceived performance of general contractors responding to the survey.
This chapter begins by describing the common problems associated with implementing IT business strategy that are faced by companies and other organizations, resulting in business planning that is not directly aligned with IT planning and IT investments not clearly supporting business strategies. It is stressed that all organizations should pursue strategic alignment practices to improve organizational performance when using IT-based resources. Case studies specific to the construction industry are presented to illustrate practical problems that companies face. With this background, the critical success factors of implementing IT business strategy are discussed. They mainly center around the goal of enabling businesses to reduce costs while at the same time improve IT’s contribution to their overall performance in terms of overall profit or net earnings. In the discussion, research finding of organizational success in strategic IT and business alignment are used to elaborate on the factors involved, both internal and external to the organization. Overall, the essential traits of successfully aligned organizations are mentioned. This is followed by describing a proposed model that is able to successfully address the alignment of business and IT by adopting a process-driven architecture that focuses on information management. Moving on, there are several aspects of preparing an organization for successful IT business strategy implementation. The next part describes some major steps of implementation like defining the goals and linking them to the performance criterion, focusing on the strategic intentions, adopting an effective plan, quantifying the cost and benefits of IT, measuring and tracking the results, and, last but not least, managing culture. Specifically on the construction industry, the chapter covers the main advantages and disadvantages of adopting IT to increase strategic competitiveness of construction companies. The illustrations from past research focus on links that are established between competitive advantage or project success and the use of technology. As background to proposing a set of recommendations on how IT business strategies can be implemented in design and construction firms, the case of IT adoption in the construction industry of Singapore is presented to serve as an overview of developments in this area. Based on the performance criteria established for these two types of firms in Singapore, appropriate enablers of implementation are suggested, including the kind of business strategy applicable to different firm types, through a process framework. The chapter concludes with a summary of the main points covered on the implementation of IT business strategy in the construction industry.
Habár a technológia fogalmának, fejlődésének, szerepének, jelentőségének és hatásainak kutatása és vizsgálata egyidős az emberiséggel, és annak vetületei számtalan diszciplínában, azok fejlődésében is tetten érhetők, a technológia szervezeteken belüli stratégiai menedzselésének fő kérdéseivel foglalkozó interdiszciplináris tudományterület viszonylag rövid múltra tekint vissza. Meglátásunk szerint az infokommunikációs technológiák megjelenése, a technológiai fejlődés és a környezeti változások felgyorsulása, az iparági határok erodálódása, az iparági és a technológiai konvergencia megjelenése és erősödése, hogy csak néhány meghatározó jelenséget emeljünk ki mind-mind hozzájárultak ahhoz, hogy a vállalatok stratégiai és technológiai rugalmassága a versenyben való helytállás nélkülözhetetlen elemévé vált. Habár a szakterület vitathatatlan kapcsolatban áll a stratégiai menedzsment, a projekt menedzsment, a tudásmenedzsment, az innováció menedzsment és a mérnöki menedzsment területekkel, a kötet jellegéből és a terjedelmi okokból adódóan azonban nem tud – és nem is célja – átfogó áttekintést nyújtani a stratégiai technomenedzsment által felölelt valamennyi témakörről, elméleti megközelítéséről, koncepcióról, modellről és eszközről, illetve a stratégiai technomenedzsmenttel kapcsolatban álló összes tudományterület érintettségéről, e területek egymásra gyakorolt hatásairól. A kötet a stratégiai technomenedzsment témakörében íródott tanulmányok szemelvénygyűjtemény jellegű összefoglalója, melynek fejezetei egy-egy, a szerzők által szabadon választott kutatási részterület lényegi összefoglalóját képezik.
Construction engineers play a major role in the built environment by designing construction facilities and field operations and supplying materials. This paper summarizes and synthesizes the results of a research program to increase understanding and effectiveness of two key construction engineering focus areas: integration of project activities, and increasing innovation. Key findings related to project integration include planning activities to improve constructability and foster use of major construction methods. The integration research also included identifying constructability knowledge and using project models to increase its availability for designers. The second main theme of the research is process and product innovation. This investigation used case studies of innovative projects to identify major differences. This increased understanding led to overall findings regarding innovative design and construction organizations and projects and to highlight recommendations for practical applications to increase the scope and rate of innovation in practice. Both parts of the paper contribute to the core body of knowledge regarding construction engineering activities and their vital role in improving project performance in meeting cost, schedule, safety, quality, and sustainability objectives.
Indisputable and has been proven in numerous academic studies before that that the construction industry plays a major role along with the other sectors in the sustainable development of a country. The role of a construction company which is governed by both the prudent management and the success of a construction project in a country are very important. This can be viewed and examined in depth about the effectiveness in the success criteria of a project managed by the continuity of a construction company. Ensuring the existence of an organization in an industry is an important factor in this challenging market. This is no exception in the construction sector where competition is a fundamental issue to every construction companies. Making progress is basically, a vigorous question for the construction companies " top management to ask to themselve regularly. From time to time, industry players are facing stiff and tough competition due to large number of players, whether existing or new players involved from various background and track record. Furthermore, the large numbers of component deciding the competitiveness of contractors, whose organization structures and governance have turned out to be more muddled. Different construction companies have their own unique criteria which may differ from one to another. The enormous amount of issues needs to bring down to manageable numbers so that measures can be identified and scrutinized to enhance competitiveness. This paper discusses the result from the critical investigation of secondary data from past studies in the Asian countries, namely China, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Malaysia. Several fundamental factors have been identified as CSFs in construction companies in respective country. Also highlighted a critical survey based upon various literatures written on this subject where critical success factors (CSFs) as yardsticks to gauge the factors influencing the construction company survive in the industry for a number period of time as well as the relationship among CSFs in various construction companies in different country in the Asian region. Far reaching estimation of an organization's performance and resulting input to its supervision is crucial for business change. Estimation additionally empowers organizations to be contrasted from one another on the premise of institutionalized data, permitting best practices to be distinguished and connected more widely. Different countries have their own set of critical success factors (CSFs) which may differ in term of priority and at the same time share common elements of success factor in accomplishment as a construction companies. The study, which is exploratory in nature, embraced the content and literature investigation and inductive technique to accomplish its objectives.
Many construction firms have made profits and satisfied their clients by embracing operational tools such as total quality management (TQM), reengineering, and bench-marking. These methods have resulted in higher productivity, better quality, and faster project deliveries. However, since operational effectiveness means performing similar activities better than your rivals perform them, the profits from these tools have only been temporary. When everyone uses the same tools, the playing field is leveled. This article reports on a study of ten construction firms in Botswana. The study found that the capabilities of firms are influenced by their organizational structures; this can determine the extent to which a company is competitive. The article concludes by emphasizing that construction firms with flexible organizational structures are better equipped than those with rigid structures. They respond to changes in the environment better.
To rationally evaluate the competitive performance of construction companies in order to make competitive strategy, the multi index system is proposed and Analytic Hierarch Process (AHP) is applied to calculate the weight of every index. The evaluation model of competitive performance of construction companies based on LMBP neural network using the Lenvenberg-Marquardt algorithm is presented. The result demonstrates that the model can make the nonlinear mapping of the inputting and outputting data and avoid randomicity and anthropogenic influence in calculating the weight of every index. The competitive strategy can be suggested while the trained neural network gives the value of the comprehensive index, which is a good way to raise the competitive performance of construction companies.
A proper method to assess contractor competitiveness is important both for assisting clients in the selection of proper contractors and for assisting contractors in the development of more competitive bidding strategies. Previous studies have identified various indicators for assessing contractor competitiveness, and several assessment methods have been introduced. Nevertheless, these studies are limited because they are unable to tell which indicators are more important in different market environments. This paper identifies the key competitiveness indicators (KCIs) for assessing contractor competitiveness in the Chinese construction market. An index value is used to indicate the relative significance of various competitiveness indicators based on which KCIs are identified. The data applied in this study are from a survey of the construction industry in mainland China. The research findings provide valuable information for both existing businesses and the construction professionals who plan to compete for construction works in the Chinese market. The study provides useful references for further studies that compare the KCIs used in the Chinese construction industry and those used in other construction industries.
Increasing complexity of many constructed facilities and escalating demands for project performance are driving significant changes in design and construction. Increased project integration and technical support of construction operations provide a promising response to these demands. This paper identifies and describes nine critical activities to increase technical support for construction: integrate early planning; plan for regulatory compliance; consider construction methods and sequences in design; tailor and time technical information to users' needs; provide materials to support effective construction; identify and provide construction-applied resources; create an environment for safe, productive, and high quality work; technically support efficient construction operations and completion; and transfer experience between projects. The paper's relevance to industry practitioners includes multiple benefits of completing these activities for firms, projects, and professionals, along with the necessary steps to develop this capability and gain these benefits. Educators and researchers can use the activities to structure course topics related to technical fundamentals of construction and integration with design, along with future investigations of construction process knowledge.
This paper examines the impact of information technology (IT) utilization on construction firm performance. Based on empirical data collected from 74 US construction firms, analyses provide evidence that IT has a positive impact on overall firm performance, schedule performance, and cost performance. Firm performance is a composite score of several metrics of performance: schedule performance, cost performance, customer satisfaction, safety performance, and profit. No relationship is found between IT utilization and customer satisfaction, safety, or profit, although this may be due to limitations of the study given strong correlations between IT utilization and cost and schedule performnance. The empirical evidence of positive association between performance and IT use complements survey respondents' subjective assessments of the association between IT use and firm performance. While not providing detailed return on investment type information, in general the research should encourage firms to adopt and invest in IT tools.
During the early stages of bridge design, the decision on possible reliable structural configurations bears on many considerations such as maintenance, aesthetics, durability, construction method (i.e. CM), and environmental impact, amongst others. Recent studies suggest that quality can be improved in Egypt if design and planning during the preconstruction phase are improved. Other studies performed on superstructure construction methods used in Egypt reveal that in 43% of the studied cases the method used was not the best solution. One of the reasons for that is the inadequate study of alternative construction methods. Triggered by such findings this paper attempts to develop an intelligent decision support system that helps both designers and construction professionals during the early stages of a project to evaluate alternative construction methods of concrete bridges in Egypt using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Research findings suggest that the main criteria affecting evaluation are cost, duration, bridge physical characteristics, stake holders' objectives, characteristics of construction method, the environment, and external constraints. A cost model has been developed and benefit to cost ratio is calculated for each alternative method. The paper concludes by emphasising the importance of incorporating construction knowledge in the design process.
The paper absorbed research results on social capital, technological innovation performance from domestic and foreigner. On the basis, this paper from the individual level perspective of a CTO and in charge of the CTO who is the head of technology management in an enterprise, on the relationship of the external social capital they owned with technological innovation performance. At the same time, the paper from the perspective of technology strategy, explored the intermediary role of CTO technology strategy participation in the following relationship, the related conceptual model was also proposed, as a start-ups exploration in this field, hoping to enrich the community Capital Research's content, and to expand the correspond knowledge. Also, this study surveyed high-tech enterprises in China, in order to test the above conceptual model, the following are conclusions: the structure dimension, the relationship dimension, the cognitive dimension of CTO external social capital are related to CTO Technology Strategy Participation and Technological Innovation Performance; CTO Technology Strategy Participation is play an intermediary role in the relationship of CTO External Social Capital structure dimension, relationship dimension and Technological Innovation Performance.
Managing today's global projects requires focusing scarce management attention on diverse topics related to financing and delivering the project amidst cultural differences. New technology, especially modeling tools that foster project integration, offers major potential advantages, along with implementation challenges that also merit managerial attention. This paper describes the key elements of managerial leadership to create the organizational context, provide the key supportive roles, and complete the actions needed to increase project integration and its benefits. The description focuses on background research and a vision of model-based integration for design and delivery of projects. The conclusions highlight the need and opportunity for managerial attention to integration as a means to improve project performance. The recommendations describe possible steps for changes in practice, education, and research to foster the context and roles for effective integration on challenging projects.
Purpose
– Drawing on the literature of chief technology officer (CTO) and trusting relationship theory, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of trusting relationship of CTO‐chief executive officer (CEO) on the CTO's participation in technology strategy, based on empirical study of Chinese high‐tech firms, in order to maximize CTO's strategic decision‐making role. Taking into account the weight of power in Chinese culture, this study takes CTO's power distribution as moderator, to study whether it strengthens the impact of trusting relationship of CTO‐CEO on CTO's participation in technology strategy.
Design/methodology/approach
– CTOs of high‐tech firms from Shanghai, Jiangsu, Shenzhen, Zhejiang and Beijing are taken as samples. A questionnaire survey is conducted by using random sampling method.
Findings
– The results show that trusting relationships of CTO‐CEO has a significant positive impact on CTO's participation in technology strategy. The two dimensions of trusting relationships of CTO‐CEO, cognitive trust and emotional trust also have a significant positive impact on CTO's participation in technology strategy and each dimension of CTO's power distribution has a significant moderating effect on partial paths.
Originality/value
– The results are analyzed from both the data level and theoretical level. Conclusions on the management inspiration of CEO and CTO in high‐tech firms are drawn.
The purpose of this study was to identify project satisfaction-leveraging tasks and common characteristics associated with these critical tasks. To address the primary aim, a survey was conducted to determine correlations between task-level automation adoption and project satisfaction from the perspectives of various types of project stakeholders. Identification of project satisfaction-leveraging tasks is employed as a way to gain greater understanding of the connections. Also, this study explores the links between automation utilization and project satisfaction in further detail. Task characteristics are investigated as an additional basis for gaining deeper insights into how automation technology usage may impact project satisfaction. A second survey was used to collect needed data from industry professionals. The analyses suggest that degrees of automation used in executing the project satisfaction-leveraging tasks may be positively related to project stakeholder satisfaction. The results also indicate that information and data intensive and management-related characteristics may be associated with overall project stakeholder satisfaction.
Gaining or maintaining a "contractor's" competitive advantage is not easy as it is determined by a large number of factors. Identification of critical success factors CSFs allows one to reduce the vast number of factors to some manageable few but vital ones. Based on the CSFs, contractors' limited resources such as money and manpower can be allocated and aligned appropriately for yielding a maximum outcome of overall competitiveness. This paper describes the CSFs identified from a survey study carried out in Mainland China. The ranking analysis of the survey results shows that 35 factors are rated as critical for determining the competitiveness of a contractor. Factor analysis reveals that the 35 CSFs identified can be grouped into eight clusters, namely, project management skills, organization structure, resources, competitive strategy, relationships, bidding, marketing, and technology. The CSFs in this study provide a vehicle for guiding a contractor in managing its resources in order to improve competitive advantage. The study also provides insights into the management of competitiveness for contractors that are operating in the particular context of the Chinese construction industry.
Construction innovations can provide the critical component for a company's long-term competitive strategy. To capture these competitive and other expected benefits, however, a construction company needs to understand the means through which innovations are implemented, and the strategies it can employ to increase the effectiveness of these operations. Construction-related companies can follow different strategies, based upon the nature of the innovation, their capabilities, resources and overall market strategy. The six stages of implementation are generally described, followed by a description of the types of activity required for each type of innovation, with detailed case studies.
Lack of information regarding technology benefits along with uncertain competitive advantage from new technology have resulted in industry reluctance to implement new technologies. Three hundred and seven completed projects from across Taiwan and the United States have each been assessed for the levels of technology employed on 68 different common project work functions (WFs). In addition, the projects have been assessed for the levels of overall project cost- and schedule-performance attained. This paper reports on the details and findings of this study. Specifically, differences in technology usage between the Taiwanese and U.S. industries are analyzed. Project technology findings are presented by project phase and work function-both task automation-type work functions and integration-link WFs. Project success findings for the Taiwanese and U.S. industries are presented and comparisons across national boundaries are discussed. Findings from this study can provide information on the difference in technology usage and benefits between the Taiwanese and U.S. industries.
The aim of strategic group analysis is to determine whether clusters of firms that have a similar strategic position exist within an industry or not. Findings of strategic group analysis may further be used to investigate the performance implications of strategic group membership. The objective of this paper is to identify the possible strategic groups that could exist within the Turkish construction industry by using a theoretical framework applicable for the construction industry and alternative statistical cluster analysis techniques. The achieved results pinpoint the existence of three clusters and significant differences between the performances of firms in each cluster. All of the firms in the strategic group that have the highest average performance utilize a quality differentiation strategy and have the necessary resources and capabilities that give them the opportunity to differentiate their services from others. Also, they use a systematic approach and have a collaborative environment for strategic decision making. Findings of strategic group analysis can be used by professionals to understand the current strategic position of a firm within the competitive environment and formulate strategies to shift to a better performing cluster.
The California highway bridge construction market is the largest in the United States and still growing. It arguably represents the greatest concentration of highway bridge expenditure in the world. To gain insight into this important engineering and construction market, this paper reviews the technological context of California's bridge construction sector from three perspectives: A technological overview, current technological directions, and emerging trends. The paper describes the dominance of the California Department of Transportation in designing and administering highway bridge projects and highlights the emergence of standardized cast-in-place prestressed concrete box girder bridges as the dominant design. Contractors have responded to this standardized design with continuous incremental improvements through adaptation of construction process technologies. The paper concludes that falsework, formwork, and concrete placement technologies are particularly important in gaining and maintaining a competitive advantage for construction of these bridges. This has led to specialized differentiation through firms seeking technological-based market niches.
This paper presents a brief review of the exploration of the author's study in analyzing a model in learning mechanisms in contruction contractors. To address improvement companies use learning mechanisms that help acquire knowledge for generating new and effective ways of working. Learning mechanisms based on networks such as Networks based on construction industry institution, professionally based networks (Instutute of civil Engineers); Inter company networks based on the value chain also employee based networks has a direct relationship with firm's performance. The performance of the companies in the study of learning mechanisms are as simple as the attributes of the firms, which are financial turnover range, size, number of employees and number of years in business. The exploration of the other study based on concept of technology strategy as knowledge strategy shows significant relationship between the total value of knowledge strategy and competitive performance for internationally linked companies supports. This study provides a reconceptualization for future investigation and understanding knowledge acquisition in construction contractors.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the major influences on innovation delivery in the context of small Australian construction businesses.
Design/methodology/approach
An analysis was undertaken of peer‐reviewed journal articles published between 1998 and 2008. Historical background to the current circumstances was included by reference to influential government reports and to literature on the economic theory underpinning the concept of innovation.
Findings
The findings suggest that despite the recent trend to more cooperative business arrangements, the ingrained culture of aggressively competitive relations on a building project remains in place. This is particularly evident at the small and sub‐contractor level. Such companies tend to operate with little spare capacity and can be restricted from participation in the benefits of the innovation strategies unless they receive outside assistance.
Research limitations/implications
The need for an attitudinal change is described and critical factors which restrict the involvement of small businesses in innovative practice are identified. The potential for industry bodies and government organizations to foster innovative capacity is identified as an area for future research.
Practical implications
A focus on lifting technical innovation rates for the efficient delivery of projects is described and the case for a renewed research effort on the needs of small construction businesses is made.
Originality/value
The need for the translation of innovation theory to an industry which tends to see itself as a special case and has traditionally avoided the adoption of economic theory from other sectors.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of automation technology on project deliverables from the perspectives of various stakeholders. To address the primary aim, a survey was conducted to determine correlations between quality of project deliverables and automation adoption at the phase and task levels. This study also explored the links between automation utilization and project deliverables in detail. A second survey was used to identify common characteristics associated with the project deliverable-leveraging tasks. The analyses suggest that the quality of project deliverables is significantly associated with automation usage in the front-end, design, procurement, and construction phases. In addition, degrees of automation used in executing the project deliverable-leveraging tasks may have a significant impact on the correctness and completeness of project deliverables. The results also indicate that information and data intensive, management-related, and work-procedure-related characteristics can positively influence the quality of project deliverables.
Choices of procurement method were presented in the second chapter. It was noted that other than when using the traditional procurement method, the adopted choice should not affect the capacity of a partnering or alliancing strategy to achieve the project goals through teamwork. In Chapter 7 wc present three essential features of partnering or alliancing - mutual objectives, continuous improvement and problem resolution arrangements. We also discuss character- istics of the underlying human relationship ethos that must be engendered for it to be successfully applied. In this chapter wc explore the features and characteristics of enterprise networks and explain how these may prepare project teams more fully to realise their potential in the twenty-first century.
We argue in the introduction to this book that a quality culture is required to be adopted in its fullest sense if satisfactory project outcomes arc lobe delivered. This chapter addresses this vital issue. We view a quality culture from a broader per- spective than just the delivery of a quality assured product or service. We step back and first ask the question who is being served by a project? Then wc ask, how can this best occur and provide positive outcomes for most if not all project stake- holders? The immediate response lo the first question for many projects would be the ihc paying customer', the client. However, the literature suggests sophisti- cated project initiators should and often do consult with a wide range of project stakeholders (Morris 1994; Brincr, et al. 1997; Clcland 1999). It is generally at the briefing project stage that stakeholder interests are canvassed and addressed. These arc strategic issues requiring careful needs analysis to be undertaken lo: map stakeholders; determine their interests, needs and aspirations: develop a range of feasible solutions for testing; and gain commitment to proceed with a project strategy to fulfil the need, usually through delivering a physical product and/or service. A range of briefing and value analysis tools and techniques may be employed at this stage and these arc adequately discussed elsewhere, sec for example (Barrett and Stanley 1999; Smith and Jackson 2000). Further, when undertaking a product/service development project to introduce an innovation or to expand potential market reach, a high degree of customer focus and consulta- tion is clearly evident from the literature (Bensaou and Earl 1998; Magretta 1998: Malonc and Laubachcr 1998; Prahlad and Ramaswamy 2000; Chase and Dasu 2001; Scvbold 2001).
We generally use construction projects in this book to illustrate procurement examples, however, other business sectors embrace similar procurement forms. Manufacturing, car, ship and aerospace assemblies often use a form of design and construction (Graham 1999; Womack and Jones 2000). This second chapter explores procurement options using a cost risk perspective. Figure 2.1 illustrates the continuum along which the project delivery systems can be categorised. At one extreme lies the traditional 'fixed cost' (and usually fixed time) project. At the other is the fully cost reimbursable project. Procurement options for clients can be viewed through a cost risk/relationship risk perspective. The initial tender cost can be fixed with all risk being absorbed by the contractor. Alternatively, the client can absorb a cost risk by letting variable sum contracts and adopting an open book philosophy in which incurred costs arc verified or a for- mulated schedule of agreed rales for various aspects of the work is agreed upon.
Two hundred and nine completed projects from across the US have each been assessed for the levels of technology employed on 68 different common project work functions (WFs). In addition, the projects have been assessed for the levels of overall project cost- and schedule-performance attained. This paper reports on the details and findings of this study. Specifically, project technology usage findings are presented and analyzed according to project size. In addition, project technology findings are presented by project phase and work function – both task automation-type work functions and integration-link work functions. Composite project success (a combination of project cost and schedule success) findings are also presented and relationships with technology usage are discussed. The results of this study indicate that the project success-technology relationships for medium and small projects are stronger than those for large projects. For medium and small projects, levels of project technology usage are positively associated with projects’ levels of composite success.
An evolutionary model of technological change is proposed in which a technological breakthrough, or discontinuity, initiates an era of intense technical variation and selection, culminating in a single dominant design. This era of ferment is followed by a period of incremental technical progress, which may be broken by a subsequent technological discontinuity. A longitudinal study of the cement (1888-1980), glass (1893-1980), and minicomputer (1958-1982) industries indicates that when patents are not a significant factor, a technological discontinuity is generally followed by a single standard. Across these diverse product classes, sales always peak after a dominant design emerges. Discontinuities never become dominant designs, and dominant designs lag behind the industry's technical frontier. Both the length of the era of ferment and the type of firm inaugurating a standard are contingent on how the discontinuity affects existing competences. Eras of ferment account for the majority of observed technical progress across these three industries.
This paper focuses on patterns of technological change and on the impact of technological breakthroughs on environmental conditions. Using data from the minicomputer, cement, and airline industries from their births through 1980, we demonstrate that technology evolves through periods of incremental change punctuated by technological break-throughs that either enhance or destroy the competence of firms in an industry. These breakthroughs, or technological discontinuities, significantly increase both environmental uncertainty and munificence. The study shows that while competence-destroying discontinuities are initiated by new firms and are associated with increased environmental turbulence, competence-enhancing discontinuities are initiated by existing firms and are associated with decreased environmental turbulence. These effects decrease over successive discontinuities. Those firms that initiate major technological changes grow more rapidly than other firms.
Several studies have shown that pioneers have long-lived market share advantages and are likely to be market leaders in their product categories. However, that research has potential limitations: the reliance on a few established databases, the exclusion of nonsurvivors, and the use of single-informant self-reports for data collection. The authors of this study use an alternate method, historical analysis, to avoid these limitations. Approximately 500 brands in 50 product categories are analyzed. The results show that almost half of the market pioneers fail and their mean market share is much lower than that found in other studies. Also, early market leaders have much greater long-term success and enter an average of 13 years after pioneers.
The authors present a case for integrating technology and marketing strategy as key elements that affect corporate success in rapidly changing environments. After describing the implications of technological change for firm behavior, the authors propose a framework for developing a technology strategy and introduce the technology portfolio. The technology portfolio serves both as a model for technological resource allocation and as an aid in choosing an optimal set of technologies from a set of feasible alternatives.
Although the concept of moderator variables has been used extensively in marketing-related studies, much confusion persists as to how they are defined and identified. To alleviate this confusion, the authors present a typology of moderator variables with a framework for identifying their presence and type. Simulated data are used to illustrate and validate the proposed framework.
Recent studies have shown evidence of a positive relationship between market orientation and performance. However, some scholars have suggested that competitive environment could moderate this relationship. The authors investigate how competitive environment affects the strength of the market orientation-performance relationship and whether it affects the focus of the external emphasis within a market orientation—that is, a greater emphasis on customer analysis relative to competitor analysis, or vice versa, within a given magnitude of market orientation. Their results provide very limited support for a moderator role for competitive environment on the market orientation-performance relationship. The benefits of a market orientation are long term though environmental conditions are often transient, and thus being market oriented is cost-effective in spite of any possible short-term moderating effects of the environment.
Executive Overview
Technological pioneering, the creation and successful commercialization of technology, is among a company's most potentially viable strategies. However, it cannot succeed without skilled management that (re)defines the company's strategic goals and competencies. Without managerial resourcefulness, pioneering becomes tantamount to unplanned adventure into unforgiving markets. Technological pioneering that is carefully planned and strongly supported by an appropriate structure and an effective marketing plan can propel a company into a position of market leadership.
This study explores organizational growth in technology-based ventures. We relate characteristics of the founding top-management team, strategy, and environment to the sales growth of newly founded U.S. semiconductor firms. The results indicate significant main and interaction effects for the founding top-management team and market stage on firm growth. In contrast, the technical innovation of firm strategy and marketplace competition were not significant. Finally, the founding top-management team and market-stage effects were increasingly large over time. Overall, these results indicate that both environmental determinism and strategic choice operate on young firms. These findings also suggest chaos-theory linkages to positive-feedback models and sensitive dependence of organizational growth on founding conditions.
Reports a study of 54 organizations, 30 of which were nonservice firms. The purpose of the study was to evaluate various aspects of environmental uncertainty and their impacts on innovativeness (new products and processes). In a recursive, causal path model of the nonservice sample of firms, it was found significantly (p<;0.05) that the impact of a global measure of perceived environmental uncertainty on firm innovativeness is mediated by an aggressive technology policy and, in turn, the presence of a special equipment evaluation group in the organization, for major process innovations only. For minor process innovations, this global perceived uncertainty promoted adoption directly, as expected, with no mediated effects. In addition, it was found that specific causes of perceived uncertainty (competition, customers, and government regulation) have little or no influence on adoption of major process innovation and act to impede adoption of minor process innovations.
In recent years American companies have shown considerable interest and commitment to innovation. In their quest for superior financial performance, these companies have explored different types and sources of innovation. This study examines how business-level (competitive) strategy influences companies' emphasis on different innovation types (product, process, and administrative) and sources (incubative, imitative, and acquisitive). Data from 102 businesses (strategic business units, SBUs) suggest that different strategies are associated with distinct patterns of innovation types and sources. Further, the fit between competitive strategies and innovation types and sources is associated with superior company financial performance.
Environments have been viewed as key contingency variables for rela.. tionships between strategy and performance. Yet, tbe nature of tbis contingency relationship bas not been resolved; do environments mod- erate its form or its strengtb? Using moderated regression analysis and subgroup anaiysis, tbis study demonstrated tbat environments, as mea- sured by characteristics of market structures, moderate tbe strengtb but not tbe form of relationsbips between strategy variables and per- formance.
This study examines how firms in the pharmaceutical industry responded to the R&D tax credit which was enacted in 1981. The change in research intensity (research/sales) subsequent to the tax change was estimated for the firms. An increase in research intensity was associated with the adoption of the tax credit. The strong response by the firms to the tax credit and the effort to maintain their relative position in research intensity indicate that research intensity is an important strategic dimension and driving force in the industry.
Industrial classifications were used as a basis for operational definitions of both industrial and organizational task environments. A codification of six environmental dimensions was reduced to three: munificence (capacity), complexity (homogeneity-heterogeneity, concentration-dispersion), and dynamism (stability-instability, turbulence). Interitem and factor analytic techniques were used to explore the viability of these environmental dimensions. Implications of the research for building both descriptive and normative theory about organization-environment relationships are advanced.
Given the limits of the patent systems, an innovating firm faces a difficult strategic conundrum: should it license its new technology to competitors or not? If the innovating firm does not license its new technology, competitors may quickly develop their own, possibly better, version of the technology. On the other hand, if imitation of the new technology is difficult, by denying its technology to competitors the innovating firm may be able to establish a competitive advantage. If the innovating firm does license its new technology to competitors, it runs the risk of losing control over that technology (of giving away its competitive advantage to competitors). On the other hand, if competitors are able to rapidly imitate the new technology anyway, by licensing its technology the innovating firm may ensure that its version of the technology becomes the dominant design in an industry. Moreover, the innovating firm will receive royalty payments in this scenario.
Given these different scenarios, what should an innovating firm do? In this paper a theoretical framework is constructed that identifies the factors that influence an innovating firm's choice between licensing and not licensing. This suggests that the speed of imitation, the extent of first mover advantages, and the transaction costs of licensing play a major role in determining the appropriate choice.
Process innovation strategies are rare in traditionally 'non-process' industries. Why do non-process industries appear to be so slow to learn from successful innovation in the process industries. What are the principal concepts and practices of process innovation? This paper examines some examples of success in process innovation strategies in several process industries. Similar successes in non-process industries are also described. Managerial policies in the two types of industry are compared, and a number of ideas for the management of process innovation in the non-process industries are offered.
This paper links technology strategy, competitive strategy and company performance. It first derives six major dimensions of technology strategy and identifies their components. The paper then addresses the theoretical distinctiveness of technology and competitive strategies, adopting a strategic choice perspective. It shows possible links between competitive and technology strategies, using a hybrid typology that combines previous classifications. The paper concludes by identifying future research questions for both theoretical and empirical research in this area.
This study empirically explores the association of a firm's approach to domestic and international operations with its technological choices and financial performance. The technological choices examined unclude the following: commitment to leading the creation of new technologies: emphasis on internal and external sources of technology: capital spending for technological pursuits: R&D investments. Cluster analysis of data from 180 US electronics firms produced four clusters of international and domestic operations. These clusters exhibited variaions in companies' technological choices and in the associations between technology variables and company financial performance. The results help to identify viable technolgical choices under different combinations of domestic and international competition.
In this study, businesses were categorized into six groups on the basis of their methods of production, rates of innovation, and product sophistication. Technology, strategy, and performance-related variables were then used to successfully relate these categories to archetypes in three existing conceptual typologies. Although the strategies of the six groups differed significantly, their profitability levels did not.
Small manufacturing firms make a significant contribution to the economy. Yet, partly because of the greater availability of data on larger firms, strategic management and manufacturing strategy research have tended to neglect small business. Using a survey of small manufacturers, we examine the applicability of Porter's typology of generic strategies to this context and investigate the links between generic strategies and one important dimension of manufacturing strategy-technology management. The analysis of generic strategies shows consistency with previous work on larger firms and tends to support the use of the typology in this setting. Moreover, the internal and external influences on the technology adoption decision process vary significantly with generic strategies, implying that the role played by individuals and networks constitutes a dominant factor. Surprisingly, no distinction was found between firm groupings with respect to decision criteria, which suggests that the decision process of small firms remains rather inexplicit, informal, and, to a large extent, intuitive. We also found that technologically more sophisticated firms tend to hold stronger competitive positions and that technological strength appears to be related to both cost advantage and differentiation.
An innovation strategy for the manufacturing function covers four areas: a firm's desired innovation leadership orientation (i.e., being a leader versus being a follower), its level of emphasis on process and product innovation, its use of internal and external sources of innovations, and its intensity of investment in innovation. We examine two models of the association between manufacturing companies' innovation strategy and their financial performance. The first examines the variations in company financial performance as a function of the simultaneous effect of the dimensions of innovation strategy. The second is a sequential model that suggests a causal sequence among the dimensions of innovation strategy that may lead to higher performance. We used data from a sample of 149 manufacturing companies to test the models. The results (1) support the importance of innovation strategy as a determinant of company financial performance, (2) suggest that both models are appropriate for examining the associations between the dimensions of innovation strategy and company performance, and (3) show that the sequential model provides additional insights into the indirect contribution of the individual dimensions of innovation strategy to company performance. Finally, we discuss the implications of these results for managers.
An attempt is made to relate several common dimensions of business-level strategy to their organizational contexts. A model is developed that predicts the structural and environmental correlates of a strategy on the basis of the number and uncertainty of its contingencies. It is shown that strategies of complex product innovation, marketing differentiation, market breadth and conservative cost control each have pronounced but very different relationships with bureaucratic and organic structural devices of uncertainty reduction, differentiation and integration, and with environmental dynamism, heterogeneity and hostility.
The high-tech industry is usually treated as an homogeneous entity, without differentiating between organizations according to the relative importance of technology in their business strategy. This paper investigates the varying impact of technology on the success of strategic business units within the Miles and Snow typology. Although common wisdom might lead to the conclusion that prospectors are more dependent on technological progress than the other strategic types, the results show rather that the influence is greater and more fruitful for the defenders both in the short and the long term.
This study investigated the relationship between perception of environmental uncertainty (PEU) and environmental scanning behavior of Chief Executive Officers of 47 manufacturing firms in Nigeria. The results indicated that perceived uncertainty in the environment was significantly higher for the task environment sectors than for the remote environment sectors; and as perceived uncertainty increased in a sector of the environment, scanning frequency and scanning interests also increased. The results were compared with those of prior research in the area of environmental scanning. The results show both the economic and political legal sectors of the environment to be more salient for Nigerian manufacturing executives than for their American counterparts.
The purpose of this paper is to argue that the destiny of the firm is closely linked to the evolution of product class in the industry and show that product-class evolution is driven by the variation, retention and selection of dominant designs in the context of lumpy markets. The paper demonstrates that business strategy decisions cannot be undertaken without an intimate understanding of the relationship between the firm's technology trajectory and the opportunity space created by lumpiness in the market. The paper identifies where the major choices facing the executive team, and the processes they implement in response, significantly influence the scope direction and quality of technology strategy decisions.
Innovation is conceptualized in different ways from firm to firm. While some firms tend to accept a more conservative approach towards innovation, other firms approach innovation from a more entrepreneurial perspective. A conservative model of innovation and an entrepreneurial model of innovation are presented, considering such firm characteristics as environmental variables, information processing variables, structural variables, and decision making variables. The methodology for the study includes data collected via questionnaire from 52 diverse firms in the Montreal region; these firms represent a variety of industries, including broadcasting, food, electronics, chemicals, and publishing, to name a few. The data were analyzed using both a correlational analysis and curvilinear regression analysis to better understand the influence of the respective variables for each model. The findings indicate that innovation within conservative firms correlates positively to the aforementioned variables. Within conservative firms, innovation occurs when 1) environmental challenges and instabilities are present; 2) these instabilities are made explicit to and analyzed by the management team; and 3) financial and structural resources are available for innovation to occur. Entrepreneurial firms also exhibit positive correlations with environmental and structural variables; however, negative correlations are also observed regarding information processing, decision making, and structural integration. Innovation occurs on an extreme level within entrepreneurial firms except in cases when information processing systems, as well as analytical and strategic planning processes and structural integration devices, warn the management team of the risks associated with extreme innovation. The results indicate that a balance between the extremes of conservativism and entrepreneurship must be considered. (AKP)
Examines the strategic postures, competitive tactics, and organization structures of small manufacturing firms that are associated with high performance in both hostile and benign environments. Hostile environments have such characteristics as difficult business climates, intense competition, and few opportunities, making such environments difficult for smaller, resource poor firms, and such environments are increasingly common in manufacturing. Two hypotheses suggest that the relationships between the organization structure and strategic posture can be determined by the level of hostility in the environment. Data were collected via surveys sent to single-industry, independently owned firms in western Pennsylvania, of which 161 responses were analyzed from among those in business for at least five years. Findings indicate that: (1) small firms with organic structures perform best in hostile environments, while small firms with mechanistic structures perform best in more benign environments; and (2) entrepreneurial firms perform better in hostile environments, while small conservative firms perform best in more benign environments. (SFL)
This paper presents a study of the relationships among select business strategy dimensions, technology policy dimensions, and firm performance. The research sought to identify how these variables interrelate at the bivariate and multivariate levels. Data were collected from 103 manufacturing-based firms representing 28 mature industries. Results show that technology policy choices vary widely across firms with different business strategies, and that business strategy affects the strength of the relationship between firm performance and particular technology policies.
Two important business-level strategic typologies were systematically evaluated, analyzed and compared in this study: Porter'S Overall Cost Leadership, Differentiation, Focus, and ‘Stuck in the Middle’ generic competitive strategies, and Miles and Snow'S Defender, Prospector, Analyzer, and Reactor types of organizational adaptation. On the basis of strategic theory, and following a pilot study, 31 strategic variables were evaluated by judges on a seven-point maximum-minimum scale, for each strategy, within its typology. Analysis of variances and concordance among judges regarding the ranking of the strategies on each variable were examined, and a strategic profile was built for each strategy. Proximities between strategies of the two typologies were analyzed using monotonic multidimensional scaling. The analysis indicated similarities and differences between the two typologies. A synthesis of the two typologies is suggested along two dimensions: internal consistency of the strategy, and level of proactiveness.
This article surveys the theoretical and empirical literature on mechanisms that confer advantages and disadvantages on first-mover firms. Major conceptual issues are addressed, and recommendations are given for future research. Managerial implications are also discussed.